Southern California -- this just in

Despite gay ban, Boy Scouts can lease public space, court rules

December 20, 2012 | 12:09
pm

Even though the Boy Scouts of America bars atheists and
gays, the city of San Diego is allowed to lease the group public property at
nominal rates without running afoul of the state and federal constitutions,
a federal appeals court decided Thursday.

A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court
of Appeals upheld the city’s practice of leasing valuable property to the Boy
Scouts for nominal rent in exchange for the group’s commitment to undertake
expensive renovations and to manage the property.

The unanimous ruling, which overturned a district
court decision, said the city did not discriminate in its rental policies or bear any financial hardship under the terms of its leases to the Boy
Scouts.

The decision stemmed from a lawsuit brought by a lesbian
couple and an agnostic couple, who said the leases of public land to groups
that discriminate violated both the state and federal constitutions.

The couples “had an aversion to the facilities and
felt unwelcome there because of the Boy Scouts’ policies that discriminated
against people like them,” the court said.

But
the panel concluded that the city leases were not discriminatory.

“There is no evidence that the city’s purpose in
leasing the subject properties to the Boy Scouts was to advance religion, and
there is abundant evidence that its purpose was to provide facilities and
services for youth activities,” wrote Judge William C. Canby Jr.,
a President Carter appointee, for the unanimous panel.